This invention relates to a device for firing ammunition having a combustion chamber that contains a plurality of charge members which are ignitable by a primary coil surrounding the combustion chamber.
Modular propellant charge members have been developed for the firing of projectiles; these members can be inserted in varying numbers in a combustion chamber of a weapon. By selecting a specific number of charge members, all ranges can be covered. DE 3,815,436 Al describes such a propellant charge member of modular construction which contains, as the propellant charge, propellant charge grains embedded in a synthetic resin matrix. The propellant charge member can be designed as a cylindrical body and contains a longitudinally extending channel, a central firing facility being arranged on the wall of this channel. The known modular propellant charge members are designed for automatic feeding and are ignited by an external firing activation by the breech of the weapon. In the seal of the combustion chamber, a propellant charge igniter is inserted which is initiated by a firing mechanism, for example, in the form of a firing pin. The propellant charge igniter ignites, with an ignition jet extending into the combustion chamber, initially solely the central firing means of the first of the axially mutually aligned, series-disposed propellant charge modules. Since the ignition must first be conducted from one module to the next, a time delay occurs until all of the propellant charge members have been ignited. Simultaneous ignition of all propellant charge members is impossible by means of such conventional propellant charge igniters. There is furthermore the disadvantage that the special propellant charge igniter pertains to each shot and must be adapted to the geometrical dimensions of the breech or to the charge employed. Thereby a great volume of items must be kept in storage.
DE 2,734,169 Al discloses a device for the contactless transmission of electrical energy for the pyrotechnical igniter of a projectile. The electrical ignition energy is transmitted from a primary coil to a secondary coil which coil is connected to the pyrotechnical igniter. The secondary coil and the igniter are mounted on the side of the projectile facing the breech; whereas the primary coil for the excitation of the secondary foil is integrated in the breech of the weapon in immediate vicinity of the secondary coil. The disadvantage of this device resides in that the known ignition system permits only the initiation of the ignition means of a single propellant charge member. The simultaneous ignition of several modular propellant charge members arranged one below the other is not possible with this ignition system.
Based on the required strength of the seal closing off the combustion chamber against the high loads during the firing and for reducing the eddy current losses in the primary coil due to the short-term high current pulse in the primary coil, the breech of the weapon must be manufactured from a solid nonmagnetic material. Since the magnetic coupling between the primary coil located in the breech and the secondary coil in the combustion chamber is established only with the interconnection of a nonmagnetic material, and thus-produced magnetic field decreases with the square of the distance, the degree of efficiency of energy transmission is poor and/or limited. Furthermore, the cavity surrounding the primary coil in the breech leads to reduction of the strength of the entire breech system.